Hello all,

I hope this post finds you well. This February's ride/meal was supposed to be yesterday, but God had other plans. The blizzard from which we all had to excavate ourselves left the restaurant, where we were going to eat, closed due to the weather. I was hoping to meet with you fine folk and maybe some of your family or friends. It was not to be for this month. So, instead I'll have to share the Scripture for this month through cyberspace. The passage from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians is below, chapter 2, verses 1 though 10, from the Bible in the New International Version translation.

Scripture Readings for February 2010

Ephesians 2:1-10 (New International Version)
Ephesians 2
Made Alive in Christ
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9not by works, so that no one can boast.
10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

One thing this passage talks about, that people can sometimes misunderstand, is the concept of grace. We call it "saying grace" when we pray for our supper, or someone is "gracious" when they show hospitality, but that's really not what grace is. Grace is the unmerited favor and love of God. He loves us, period. His love is not dependent nor contingent upon our good deeds or moral character. It is the same for everyone, we all are blessed with the full measure of God's love, His grace. Whether we partake in it and enjoy it or not, is up to us. How do we partake in God's love? We do so by accepting Jesus Christ's payment for our sins. Jesus did this by living a perfect life and dying on the cross. We could not live a perfect life, that's why God sent Jesus to do it for us. He was the final sacrifice for sins. I Peter 3:18 says: "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." We can come to God through Jesus, He is the only Way, according to the Scripture and Jesus' own words. In the Gospel according to St. John chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Getting back to Ephesians chapter 2, we can see how when we accept Christ and live for God, that we can receive God's love in the fullest. In addition, God has wonderful plans for us, works for us to do. May you all be blessed by this message.

Our next lunch with ride (weather allowing) is on March 6th, I will announce that next weekend. You will be receiving the schedule for the rest of the year a little bit later on today. I pray you see God's grace for you in a new way today! Your friend